Milwaukee dominates down low to beat Judson

It was like the game was over before it even started. The Milwaukee Panthers (6-2) returned to the U.S. Cellular Arena as they won convincingly, knocking off the Judson Eagles 89-56.

“Guys passed up some really good looks to get great looks, and that is the discipline that this group is starting to show and starting to develop,” said Milwaukee Panthers head coach Rob Jeter.

“The discipline and the fundamentals, things that have been helping us win games prior to this one, really helped us win this one. I was pleased that our guys respected not only Judson but respected the game of basketball and played it the right way.”

Austin Arians led the way for the Panthers scoring 14 points in only 15 minutes of play, as he was a perfect 7-7 from the field. Kyle Kelm also had a great performance in his 15 minutes of play scoring 14 points while grabbing 4 rebounds, and making every one of his six shots.

“I tried to get myself looks down low to get going, and basically all seven of my shots were in the paint,” said Arians. “We are trying to get in the post, and I got lucky and had a few opportunities were I went one on one with a defender in the post.”

Not only did the starters perform well, but also the Panthers received some solid contributions from some key players off the bench. J.J. Panoske scored 10 points, while grabbing eight rebounds, and JeVon Lyle added an additional 10 points.

Milwaukee dominated down low on offense the entire night with 67 points in the paint, and 41 of those points coming in the first half.

In the first half Judson had no answer for Milwaukee as they took charge on both sides of the ball. The Panthers stormed out to a 6-0 lead in the first minute, and never looked back. With 15:10 left the Panthers were able to get out to an even bigger lead on a Panoske basket to push the score to 17-4.

Lyle was able to push the Panthers’ lead to an impressive 24-8 on a made three point shot with 11:55 remaining in the half. Milwaukee continued to extend their lead as they shot 60.5 percent from the field in the first half, and even held a 31-point lead towards the end. This outstanding performance gave the Panthers a 54-28 lead going into the locker room.

The second half was the same story. While Milwaukee did not shoot as well from the field, they continued to add on. With the score completely in their favor the entire game, Jeter was able to use 12 different players throughout the night.

This allowed some talented reserves to receive some extra minutes compared to most games. Cody Wichmann contributed seven points, while Quinton Gustavson added six, with both of them only playing in the final nine minutes of the game.

This was truly a team effort as Milwaukee did an excellent job distributing the ball, racking up 26 assists. They finished the game shooting 52.1 percent from the field, while also out rebounding Judson 46-39.

Milwaukee was never threatened in this game, as their lead continued to grow. This was a great win, as the Panthers did all the little things right in order to win this ball game. While Judson was not much of a challenge, fans could see that this team will definitely surpass their win total (8) from last season because of their energy, the way they play as a team, and continue to improve game by game.

“Obviously this group is having fun,” said Jeter. “It all started back in the spring, when these guys dedicated to getting into the weight room.

“The chemistry is there. We talked about it early about buying in. I think they are really buying into how we want them to play. I think that is evident tonight. We are starting to put the three pieces together (buying in, playing together and leadership) that make a team. Once we getting everyone playing at that level, then we have something that we can be proud of. “

Up next the Panthers will return to the road as the face UMKC on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT.